Soft Polydimethylsiloxane-Supported Lipid Bilayers for Studying T Cell Interactions.

ABSTRACT: Much of what we know about the early stages of T cell activation has been obtained from studies of T cells interacting with glass-supported lipid bilayers that favor imaging but are orders of magnitude stiffer than typical cells. We developed a method for attaching lipid bilayers to polydimethylsiloxane polymer supports, producing "soft bilayers" with physiological levels of mechanical resistance (Young's modulus of 4 kPa). Comparisons of T cell behavior on soft and glass-supported bilayers revealed that whereas late stages of T cell activation are thought to be substrate-stiffness dependent, early calcium signaling was unaffected by substrate rigidity, implying that early steps in T cell receptor triggering are not mechanosensitive. The exclusion of large receptor-type phosphatases was ob

SUBMITTER: Lippert AH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7820804 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature